110 people stuck on cable cars in French Alps
An operation to rescue people trapped overnight in a series of cable cars in the French Alps has resumed this morning after it had to be suspended on Thursday night 'for safety reasons'
Dozens were stuck in suspension after the cable cars came to a halt on Thursday afternoon
110 people were trapped in cable cars over the Mont Blanc massif in the Alps after the cars got stuck on Thursday afternoon.
According to international media, helicopters were used to rescue 48 people and about 30 in cars closest to the ground were able to climb down. But as night fell in the French Alps, the aerial operation had to be suspended, leaving more than 30 people dangling above the slopes.
Georges-Francois Leclerc, an official of the Haute-Savoie region, said conditions became very difficult as cloud cover increased and they “were forced to stop rescue operations at 8:45pm”. Twelve people were later evacuated by Italian rescuers, he said.
“We hope to be able to evacuate everyone [Friday] morning first thing. We have done all we possibly could” this evening, he added, describing the mission as “very complicated”.
The problem was reportedly caused by cables that got crossed for “unknown reasons”.
Employees of the Mont-Blanc company were unable to repair them, chief executive, Mathieu Dechavanne said.
“We are in contact with the clients [in the cable cars]. They have water and some means of communication but are beginning to find it’s taking a long time,” he said.
The mayor of Chamonix, Eric Fournier, said there was “nothing fundamentally to fear”.
